Load pins may be used to measure loads in various systems. A load pin equipped with one or more strain gages may be mounted into a machine in place of a shaft, a bolt, a pivot pin, or clevis pin. The strain gages are configured to measure loads in the load pin and to generate a signal proportional to the measured load.
Many load pins, such as those described above, may not have sufficiently stiff, isolated ends as compared to the sensing portion, where the strain gages are located. As a result, it can be difficult to obtain precision loading measurements from the instrumentation. In particular, the load pins may exhibit different behavior under tension and compression. This is typically attributed to the non-uniform loading of the pin under these different loading scenarios. As a result, the output from strain gages also varies.
Hence, there is a need for a load pin that provides improved performance over presently known load pins and/or that provides improved sensitivity under both tensile and compressive loads and/or exhibits similar tensile and compressive strains under given loading conditions. The present invention addresses one or more of these needs.